A First Date

Today I had a great first date. I got to laze around all morning and then spent about an hour getting ready while listening to Ed Sheeran (my current musical heartthrob). I curled my hair-- and I don't curl my hair for just anyone. I put on make-up, which is also not a regular thing for me. I picked out a super cute outfit that I had been saving for a special occasion. I even shaved my legs last night and did my nails.

My date started by going to get some lunch at a great sandwich and salad place called Graze. I'm a dairy-free, (mostly) vegetarian--okay, probably pescetarian if anyone is actually keeping tabs-- and it's often difficult to find something to eat at restaurants. Graze is great because they have quite a few meat free options. My sandwich was amazing, and came with a side salad. I also got a delicious Lavender Dry Sparkling-- a type of sparkling water. I've really gotten into lavender since I moved here, which is good because it's pretty much the only thing that grows in this desert besides sagebrush.

After a good lunch, we headed over to the Hanford REACH-- a museum/garden/wildlife walking trail on the preserve land allocated from the Hanford site. Does Hanford sound familiar to you (even though you likely haven't been to Eastern Washington state)? Hanford was one of the towns taken over and reallocated during the Manhattan Project for the war effort. Two-thirds of the plutonium produced during World War II and the Cold War was produced at Hanford.

Because of the huge role that Hanford played in fairly recent history, the REACH has a museum which features exhibits about the geology and ecology of the Pacific Northwest and the role of this area's history in the nuclear age. Here are some pretty cool pictures from the museum. If you ever find yourself in the Columbian Basin in Eastern Washington, you should stop by the REACH. The museum costs $8 for adults, so it's fairly inexpensive.

The date was going so well, so I decided to invite my date back to my apartment so I could cook dinner. There was a quick stop at the grocery store first to get ingredients. I decided to make a vegetarian version of hamburger bean casserole. I was afraid to tell my date that it was something my ex-fiance used to make for me. I was just craving it. 

Now before you freak out about me taking dates home after one meeting and become concerned for my life-- let me share something with you. The date was with me. I took myself out. I wanted to get to know myself better and learn how to enjoy the time I spend with myself more fully. Most importantly, I want to fall in love with myself-- the me I have rediscovered after moving across the country and leaving everything I've known behind (besides Becqs-- my favorite burrito dog).

We don't spend a lot of genuine time with ourselves. We say that life is too busy, that we have too many responsibilities. So instead of happiness from within, we seek out happiness in the world around us. If we afforded ourselves the "us" that we share with those around us, I think we would be happier... with a happiness that comes from the inside.

My date was wonderful. I think I will ask myself out again... and soon.